"It was a very strong effort by the entire team tonight," Wolves coach Scott Arniel said. "It was nice to see guys make some plays and get rewarded for their hard work."

Sterling set the tone by producing the game's first goal at 7:14 of the first period. Defenseman Derek Joslin carried the puck into the zone and dropped it to Sterling, who fired from the top of the right circle for his fifth goal of the season.

Sterling followed that with a backhand pass to Gordon, who was slashing toward the net and knocked home his fifth goal of the season. His power-play goal made it 2-0 at 12:27 of the first.

Matheson pushed the margin to 3-0 just 62 seconds into the second period with a wrister from the left circle through heavy traffic. After Milwaukee's Chris Mueller scored his first of 2 goals, Schroeder answered with a goal from the slot that required him to fall to his knees and elbows to complete his move.

The Admirals (6-8-1-0) cut the margin to 4-2 at 1:41 of the third, but Sterling rifled home his second goal of the night just 30 seconds later to give the Wolves breathing room.

Goaltender Eddie Lack (7-3-0) stopped 23 shots for the win. Milwaukee's Jeremy Smith (4-8-0) saved 25 of 29 shots in the opening 40 minutes before being replaced by Magnus Hellberg to start the third period.

The Wolves return to the ice Friday with a 6 p.m. visit to Grand Rapids. Chicago hosts Milwaukee at 7 p.m. Saturday in another Amtrak Rivalry battle.

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